


Keep Your Enemies Closer

by HomeForImaginaryFriends



Series: OT3+ Week 2018 [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Multi, Outer Space, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 21:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16503188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomeForImaginaryFriends/pseuds/HomeForImaginaryFriends
Summary: Kuroo and Bokuto mourn the loss of the man they loved but are surprised when they start seeing his face when he's supposedly dead.





	Keep Your Enemies Closer

 

Six years ago everything had been going perfectly.  Kuroo travelled with a small crew, really it was just him and two other men, and took on jobs others might call illegal but he called fair trade.  He only stole from people who could afford it, but he was no Robin Hood of old. He kept the things he could and sold the stuff he couldn’t. He woke up most days in his small ship, pressed together by two men who generated enough heat to keep him warm and satisfied.

 

Five years ago they had taken a job and had been double crossed when their employer wanted to take the loot they stole and keep the money they were supposed to be paid.  Kuroo was used to being double crossed, he only ever trusted the two men closet to him, his partners in every sense of the word. They had nearly gotten away with the loot and the money when an unforeseen circumstance rocked them.  They had been on an isolated planet that was basically too frigid and dead to let anything live on it. Except large creatures that lived deep beneath the land's surface. Everything would have been fine but their employers ship had crashed to the ground and awoken the primordial creatures.

 

Kuroo hid his ears and tail, pretended to be human even if he had claws and his pupils were slitted but most couldn’t ever get close enough to see that.  His species were fast and agile, he had made it to the ship first and swung it around to scoop up Bokuto, who was more Upgrades than anything and wasn’t too far behind Kuroo.

 

Sawamura was all human.  He was strong and quick but he couldn’t keep up with Kuroo’s genetics or Bokuto’s modifications.  He had fallen behind but Kuroo had been bringing the ship to him, Bokuto leaning out the cargo door to help grab him.

 

The ground beneath Sawamura’s feet had erupted, breaking into icy chunks and the feared creature that had left the planet hostile and inhabitable buried rows of long teeth into his torso.  Another creature had made a grab for the ship and Kuroo was forced to pull up, Sawamura’s wide and frightened eyes stuck in his head while Bokuto’s anguished cries was the only sound he could hear.

 

They had travelled together for years, had started off as rivals and became drinking bodies that led to sleeping together.  It all blurred together but it had felt as if they had been together for Kuroo’s entire life. Living in such cramped spaces, sometimes with their ship falling apart around them because they lived job to job meant tension was high.  They fought, argued and tossed torch wrenches at each other. Pushed and shoved, got into one another's faces. But even during their worst times there had always been underlining love and care for one another.

 

 

 

_“Don’t fucking follow me!”  Sawamura yelled out, shoving his arms into a thick jacket as he stormed out the cargo doors._

 

_“Wouldn’t dream of it sweetheart!”  Kuroo spat back, feeling childish and ridiculous but knowing Sawamura was behaving the same, especially when he held up his hand with one particular finger sticking up._

 

_“Can you bring me back some of those sticky buns?”  Bokuto asked, hanging upside down from where he had been fixing loose panelling.  Sawamura pushed Bokuto’s swinging form out of the way before continuing to stomp out of the garage they were parked in.  “Dai!”_

 

_“I’ll get you the damn buns!”  Sawamura snapped._

 

_“Thank you, love you!”  Bokuto called out. Sawamura’s broad back was to Kuroo but he could practically hear Sawamura rolling his eyes._

 

_“I love you!”  Kuroo said just to be a bit of a prat but also because sometimes it needed to be said.  Sawamura’s shoulders tensed._

 

_“Love you both too.”  Sawamura grumbled but Kuroo’s sharp ears picked it up.  Bokuto turned an accusatory stare at Kuroo, still hanging upside down._

 

_“What did you do?”  Bokuto asked._

 

_“I might have suggested replacing the stick up his ass with something far more enjoyable.”  Kuroo didn’t need Bokuto’s look of disapproval to know it hadn’t been the time for that. Their last job had gone well and they were finally able to stop and make real repairs to the ship.  Sawamura was in charge of their finances, which meant he was almost always worried about keeping them afloat. Kuroo had noticed he was tense and the words had just slipped out._

 

_“You don’t get any of my buns.”  Bokuto disappeared from view before popping back into Kuroo’s vision.  “And I mean the food but also my actual buns.” He scrambled backup and Kuroo let out a sigh._

 

_“I love you.”  Kuroo said, smiling when Bokuto dropped back down once more to press a kiss against the corner of Kuroo’s mouth._

 

_“Love you too but no buns for you until you make up with Daichi.”  Bokuto said and Kuroo knew he’d have to. The only way for Sawamura to really relax was to get another job, so Kuroo left to get them one._

 

 

 

Even the always optimistic Bokuto hadn’t asked Kuroo to go back for Sawamura.  There was no chance of him surviving, they had seen the chunk the creature had taken out of him.

 

Four years ago they had gone back to flying through the stars after a year of living on planet.  They had tried a couple different planets, tried a couple dozen of jobs between them to occupy their time and fill their pockets but there was an emptiness within them.  It was a hole made but Sawamura’s absence but getting back into the ship that Sawamura had loved so dearly made them feel at home for the first time in a year.

 

So they took up odd jobs, mostly ones that paid terribly but weren’t a risk to their lives.  It would never be the same, not with the missing spot in their bed or the warm laughter that they both so desperately wanted to hear just one more time.  Sawamura had carved himself into every inch of that ship just as he had with the two men living inside her. For a year they lived a basically legal live, barely managing to keep themselves afloat but no one was shooting at them or trying to take what was theirs.

 

Three years ago an old acquaintance of Bokuto’s popped back up in their life.  Shirofuku offered them consistent work for a percentage of whatever they got. It was back to the illegal life for them, which suited them much better.  With Shirofuku’s help they didn’t have to take so many jobs, they could survive for longer stretches of time while they planned the next heist.

 

Two years ago two figures started showing up at whatever job they were doing.  They stole what Kuroo and Bokuto had been rightly trying to steal right out from under them.  It was like they were always one step ahead of them and it was driving Kuroo and Bokuto a little mad.  Even Shirofuku thought perhaps someone from her end might be feeding information to the two mystery thieves.  Kuroo did not envy her other employees when she did a clean out of her business.

 

Even after that the thieves showed up.  Neither Kuroo’s special set of skills nor Bokuto’s enhanced features could stop them.  Until Kuroo came up with a plan to capture them.

 

A year ago Kuroo stood outside an electrified cage, smirking in victory as he stared down at the masked thief who was interfering with his career.  The universe was plenty big enough that they shouldn’t have crossed paths so many times. A handful of times Kuroo could understand, but they showed up at every single one and he wanted to know who they were before he shoved them out of the airlock.

 

 

 

_“I wouldn’t touch that unless you’ve got a thing for being electrocuted.”  Kuroo advised, partially wishing the thief would try the bars of the cage. Kuroo didn’t get angry often but it had been a year since he had been paid and his ship, the ship Sawamura and Bokuto and him had kept together for going on a decade, was falling apart thanks to this person._

 

_The thief said nothing.  He was wearing a chunky necklace, old world type of technology that scrambled a person's features until it looked like static.  Outdated but successful in masking who they were. His left arm, though mostly covered by a long sleeved shirt, was a beautiful piece of work.  His scan didn’t pick up any metal, which meant it was organic material. The very rich and powerful could afford new limbs that looked exactly like the ones they were replacing.  There was also a trend to get pieces that looked like pieces of art but the function of them were usually low. Most who needed functioning pieces used metal, a little chunky and needed to be repaired constantly._

 

_From what Kuroo had seen on the scan this person was missing a good portion of his torso, along with an arm and leg.  The hand that was showing was fully functional, Kuroo had seen the limb work and go above normal limits, but it was beautiful too.  Probably worth a small fortune._

 

_“Who are you and why are you harassing us?”  Bokuto asked, golden eyes shining brightly in the dim lighting of the cargo bay.  The thief said nothing, just stood directly in the middle of the cage. Kuroo got tired of the game and sent a pulse of electricity through the cage, bringing the thief to his knees and knocking out the power from the face scrambler._

 

_Dark eyes looked up at them from an all too familiar face.  The tablet in Kuroo’s hands fell to the floor as Bokuto sucked in a deep breath as if someone had punched him._

 

_The floor of the cage gave away and Sawamura was gone from their lives as quickly as he had appeared._

 

 

  
  


Bokuto and Kuroo spend the next year trying to find any sign of Sawamura.  They managed to find his blonde companion, Terushima who has a price on his head and a list of crimes that’s nearly as long as Kuroo’s, if Kuroo was some punk kid who allowed himself to get caught.  Kuroo was considered a criminal but he nothing could stick to him, Bokuto had some minor charges against him from his youth and Sawamura was blacklisted from any civilized world. What was Sawamura doing with some sloppy bloke who wasn’t smart enough to not get caught at every criminal venture he participated in?

 

And why was Sawamura slumming it and avoiding Kuroo and Bokuto?

 

Bokuto had an idea that somehow Terushima was blackmailing Sawamura or had threatened him in some way.  It had sounded ridiculous the first time Bokuto had brought it up but the idea was slowly growing on Kuroo.  What if Sawamura was in danger? What if him purposely targeting Kuroo and Bokuto’s heists was his way of screaming for help?

 

A year later found Kuroo and Bokuto drowning their sorrows in some backwoods pub on a planet so far removed from civilization that it didn’t even have a proper name.  Those were Kuroo and Bokuto’s kind of places, where everyone kept their eyes on their own drinks and didn’t ask any uncomfortable questions. The alcohol burned their throats and the food was completely inedible but it was what they felt they deserved.

 

They had failed Sawamura.

 

Again.

 

Kuroo couldn’t help but find comfort by pressing into Bokuto’s side.  It was dangerous to appear weak in such a place. Perhaps part of him wanted someone to pick a fight, he hadn’t been in a good one in a while.  Mostly he couldn’t talk his way out of anything but he really wanted to hit something right about then.

 

How had Sawamura survived?  And what horrible things was he facing now?  Besides the missing body parts he had looked good.  A little older, more scarred, and rougher but still beautiful.

 

“We’ll find him.”  Bokuto whispered, confident when Kuroo couldn’t find it in himself to be.  Kuroo pressed his face against the warm skin on Bokuto’s neck, arched into Bokuto’s touch when he slipped his hand underneath Kuroo’s many layers and to rub a careful hand up and down Kuroo’s spine, fingers brushing against the long tail Kuroo kept hidden when they were out among others.

 

Kuroo could still remember the look of surprise in Sawamura’s brown eyes, shock registering when Kuroo felt comfortable enough around the other man to reveal what he really was.  Sawamura had probably had some inkling, guesses and assumptions but he was a private man himself and never asked questions which Kuroo clearly didn’t want to answer. Sawamura had quickly gained his senses back, grinning and telling Kuroo his pointed ears were cute.  If anyone else had said that Kuroo would have shown them how cute he could be while cutting them to ribbons, but it was Sawamura and his grin made Kuroo’s stomach swoop low and he promised Sawamura could touch his ears if he was a very good boy. Sawamura had laughed but he couldn’t hide his flushed face and the slight look of intrigue.

 

Kuroo is well onto his way to being very, very drunk and his eyes are drooping dangerously low.  It’s not a smart idea to pass out in a place like this but maybe he’s feeling a bit sorry for himself and maybe he feels like he deserves to get a little beat up.  But then Bokuto stiffens against him and Kuroo is wide awake, his own body tensing for whatever alerted Bokuto.

 

Bokuto makes a soft noise that Kuroo can only hear because he’s pushed up against him, he looks at the anguished look on Bokuto’s face then towards the source of all that pain.  His own breath stutters out as the object of both their guilt and shame stands in the tavern.

 

A heavy cloak and tattered cloak covers Sawamura from his neck to his booted feet.  Kuroo can see the way people instinctively shift away from Sawamura’s entrance. People who cover up their bodies usually tended to be heavily armed.  Six years ago Sawamura’s face had been strong but there had always been an openness about him. He was a criminal the same as Kuroo or Bokuto, but people had a tendency to trust Sawamura almost immediately.  His face was closed off now, new scars curling up from his neck and covering part of his jaw.

 

Sawamura’s eyes look black as he meets Bokuto’s eyes and then Kuroo’s.  Movement behind him draws their attention as Terushima steps forward, body pressing against Sawamura’s side as he said something into Sawamura’s ear.  Sawamura gave a stiff nod, eyes looking around the tavern as Terushima looked over to Bokuto and Kuroo, kissing Sawamura’s shoulder with a grin that had Bokuto’s body tensing against Kuroo’s.

 

Terushima moved towards the bar and Sawamura hesitated before walking over to the corner table Bokuto and Kuroo occupied.  Once the occupants of the bar realized Sawamura wasn’t there for any of them they went back to whatever they had been doing before.  Noise resumed, Terushima leaned over the bar to grin at the sleepy eyed bartender.

 

Kuroo could only spare a passing glance for Terushima though, all his attention was for the man who stopped in front of their table.  There was a bit of gray in his temples that wasn’t there before and Kuroo dearly wanted to tease him about going prematurely gray because of all the worrying he did but he held his tongue.

 

“Daichi.”  Bokuto’s voice hid nothing, not his pain or confusion, not the hurt or the anger.  Sawamura’s face softened for a split second, his eyes looking over Bokuto and Kuroo as if noting the changes in both of them.

 

If Kuroo didn’t have a tight hold on the back of Bokuto’s shirt he was sure the other man would be up and attached himself to Sawamura by now.  But Kuroo wasn’t all that sure if that’d be welcomed now that it looked like Terushima wasn’t blackmailing Sawamura at all.

 

Sawamura’s mouth opened but a loud smack echoed in the tavern.  All their attention was turned back towards Terushima, who had been bent over the bar, flirting with the sleepy eyed bartender.  There was a tall reptilian looking person right by Terushima’s ass and it was clear he had just smacked it. Sawamura gave a sigh and Kuroo caught the exasperation but the sheer fondness in that sound surprised him.

 

Terushima turned and kicked out before launching himself at the person who had smacked his ass.  Sawamura shifted but Bokuto was up, pulling himself free from Kuroo’s grasp.

 

“I’ll help him.”  Bokuto offered, voice pleading.  Sawamura flinched back when he realized how close Bokuto had gotten.  Bokuto made a pained, sad noise. “If you want?”

 

“Don’t get too close, he’s a berserker.”  Sawamura advised. Bokuto only nodded before pushing himself into the mob that had started.  Kuroo watched Sawamura, who’s eyes followed Bokuto’s movements before looking over at Terushima, making sure both were okay before he turned to Kuroo.

 

Kuroo motioned to the seat across from him and wished he was a bit more sober for this conversation.  All his emotions were at the surface and he could feel a surge of words on the tip of his tongue but he held back, just barely.

 

“Kouta had me half convinced that your blonde buddy there was somehow blackmailing you.”  Kuroo said and watched as amusement flickered across Sawamura’s face before he closed himself down again.  Kuroo was surprised at how much that hurt.

 

“Only half convinced?”  Sawamura asked, both of them skirting around the real issue.  Kuroo watched Bokuto disarm a man before breaking a bar stool over his head.

 

“Anyone who attempted to blackmail you would surely be dead by now.”  Kuroo said and Sawamura nodded his agreement. “We thought you were dead.”  He wanted to take back the words as soon as he said them, especially as Sawamura stiffened even further.

 

“Funny, I watched you fly away when I was very much alive.”  Sawamura said, eyes as hard as steel.

 

“That thing tore you in half-” Kuroo bit back the words when he saw Sawamura flinch, his hand coming up to rest on his replaced arm for a moment before disappearing underneath his cloak once more.  “If we had thought there was even a possibility, we would have come back for you. We would have died for you.” Kuroo said with conviction, alcohol making his tongue loose.

 

“I wouldn’t have wanted that, I’m glad you didn’t come back they would have torn you apart.”  Sawamura took a shaky breath, head turning to watch the fight for a moment. There were a lot of bodies on the floor but none were Bokuto or Terushima.

 

“So you came back to steal all our jobs and show your face just to fuck with us?”  Kuroo asked, earning Sawamura’s attention once more.

 

“I was angry.”  Sawamura said, brows pinched together.  “I blamed you both for something you had no control over and I know that’s fucked up.  I know it is.” Sawamura was prone to bouts of anger, he always had a temper but he was easy to console, easier to forgive.  Kuroo knew that Sawamura probably had been angry but most of all he had been hurt, which is a more more difficult emotion to deal with.

 

Sawamura wasn’t lying when he said he was happy they hadn’t come back for him, but it wasn’t the complete truth.  It was illogical, to both wish they had risked their lives and be glad they hadn’t died right beside him. He had felt betrayed and instead of trying to work through his real emotions he had allowed that anger to rule his actions and thoughts.

 

Kuroo could feel himself doing the same.  He wanted to fight Sawamura, he wanted to say the most biting and cruel words he could think of.  He wanted Sawamura to hurt as much as Kuroo and Bokuto had.

 

But then Bokuto laughed pulling Terushima away before he could really kill someone and pushing them both over to the bar to grab a drink.  Bokuto’s laughter settled something jagged and ugly inside of Kuroo and he was glad for it because he didn’t truly want to hurt Sawamura. It was clear that Sawamura already had been through hell, that he had come here not to fight and blame them.

 

“What changed your mind?”  Kuroo asked. Sawamura’s eyes studied Kuroo’s face.

 

“Yuuji did.”  Sawamura answered after a long moment, looking over where Bokuto and Terushima were draining a mug of amber colored booze.  “And the fact that you’re not taking care of my ship.”

 

“Our ship.”  Kuroo reminded him and then groaned when he realized something.  “That’s how you always knew about our jobs, all the details. You know all the ways into our comm systems.”  Kuroo stared at Sawamura’s too handsome face and decided to take a page out of Bokuto’s book and just be honest.  “I missed you and I’m so sorry we didn’t jump into that damn hole after you. I’m sorry we didn’t burn that ice planet to ashes.  I’m sorry we took that damn job in the first place, that I took that job. I should have-” Sawamura kept repeating Kuroo’s name but once the floor gates were released he couldn’t stop himself.

 

“Tetsurou.”  Sawamura said with feeling, hands reaching out to grab Kuroo’s.  “Can we just stop apologizing and move on? Can I please come back home?”

 

“Of course you can!”  Bokuto said quickly, walking over with Terushima trailing behind him.

 

“How are you not angrier at me?”  Sawamura asked with disbelief but Bokuto only shrugged.

 

“I am angry.”  Bokuto admitted honestly.  “But I love you, we love you and you love us so we’re gonna go back to the ship and fight it out like we usually do.”  Sawamura nodded, eyes a little glassy as he stood up. Kuroo followed them both out, feeling a huge sense of relief as Bokuto walked close to Sawamura and out of the dirty tavern.

 

Kuroo stopped and turned, letting Sawamura and Bokuto walk out alone.

 

“Are you coming or what?”  Kuroo asked Terushima, who had been looking down at the ground like an abandoned mutt.  Terushima’s head snapped up, eyes wide before he jogged over to Kuroo.

 

“I can come?”  Terushima asked hesitantly.  He had a steadily bleeding head wound and Kuroo could see the gleam of metal beneath the broken skin of his knuckles.

 

“You’re important to Daichi so you’re important to us.”  Kuroo shrugged as he started walking. Terushima grinned, keeping pace even though Kuroo was purposefully using the longer length of his legs to his advantage.  Kuroo eyed Terushima and thought of the old saying, something about close friends but enemies closer.

**Author's Note:**

> Haikyuu!! OT3+ Week 2018  
> Day 5, November 1 : forgiveness / "keep your friends close, but your enemies closers" / fresh start
> 
> Again, thank the discord people for this foursome. I love them so much, why do they always come out so angsty?


End file.
